After an incredible summer in Portland, I’m back in Phoenix. Back to real work, and back to 100++ degrees. And again I’m wondering…WHY DON’T I LIVE IN PORTLAND? Well, a fantastic husband, my puppies and an entire life time of family and friends make the heat livable I suppose.

Totally unreasonable amounts of frozen yogurt don’t hurt either. 😉 You may have noticed that before I left I was on a bit of an ice cream kick. I finally figured out my ice cream maker, and I just couldn’t stop. The real deal, full fat ice cream is just so hard to recreate that I was a little nervous to go back to homemade fro-yo. I mean, I am a HUGE fan of soft serve, and I will eat it any time, any day, but it is just so hard to make something at home that doesn’t turn into an icy mess.

The good news? This is by far the BEST frozen yogurt I have ever made! The base is so rich and creamy, and packed with tart cherry flavor. You may remember a little bit about the benefits of tart cherries from this Tart Cherry Lime Elixir. They are said to reduce soreness and oxidative stress, and aid in recovery. Also, they are delicious. I’ve been drinking tart cherry juice plain for the 7 Day Cherry Juice Challenge, and it is the perfect amount of sweet and tart.

This challenge is great leading up to a big race or event, and it’s incredibly easy to incorporate! If you love the taste of tart cherry juice, just drink 8 ounces a day, or you can use 2 tablespoons of the concentrate as a shot–college flash backs anyone? Except I like the idea of actually feeling better the next day instead of worse (the woes of getting older)–or diluted in another beverage.

Okay, back to the fro-yo. We all know that cherries pair magically with chocolate. White chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate syrup, you name it. I went for a combination of white and dark chocolate to create more flavors, but you are free to use whatever you’d like. Or, if you’d like to keep this 100% fat free, feel free to skip the chocolate all together, and it will still be delicious!

In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, tart cherry juice concentrate and vanilla extract until combined and sugar is fully dissolved. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Freeze according to ice cream maker instructions. Add bourbon or vodka in the last 2-3 minutes of freezing. This is optional, but recommended—it keeps the frozen yogurt from freezing hard and icy. Fold in chocolate chips. Frozen yogurt is best served immediately, but can also be stored in a freezer safe container, just allow 10-15 minutes thawing time before scooping.

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of the Cherry Marketing Institute.

This sweet & sour cocktail has all the flavor of a refreshing cherry limeade, spiked with cherry vodka and filled with recovery-boosting 100% tart cherry juice.

I’m pretty sure I have created my ideal drink for all time. A recovery drink that’s spiked with booze? Yes, please. Here’s the thing, I loooove working hard. I’m kind of a freak like that, but I genuinely love to beat myself up a little so that I can have fun later. In fact, Long Run Day would not be complete for me if it didn’t end with a cocktail. Usually involving bourbon, but I made an exception. 😉

There have been a lot of studies lately connecting tart cherries and tart cherry juice to aiding recovery, reducing soreness and oxidative stress. Okay, so as much as I love working hard, I am not super in love with the feeling of being sore ALL THE TIME. Ever since I started crossfit, I keep waiting for the day when I’m not sore, and it just never happens, so I was super stoked to put tart cherries to the test!

I set out to make myself a little recovery drink. A cherry limeade type of thing (ummm also, I’d never had that before…it’s like I’ve been living under a rock), and it was AWESOME! Tart, lightly sweet, refreshing and delicious. After drinking my weight in glasses, I wanted to spice things up a little, so I turned it into a simple, cute little cocktail.

The ingredients are so simple: just pure tart cherry juice, freshly squeezed lime juice, simple syrup, and a splash of vodka. Now, normally I’m a girl who likes to taste my alcohol, but this drink is definitely on the milder side. You can always make it stronger, but it’s not meant to be a “hard” drink. It’s more like a sitting by the pool, relaxing, relishing in your accomplishments drink.

The recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, etc. because, let me tell ya, if you have friends over, they’re also going to want a glass…or seven.